Majesty
by Mystic Cake
Summary: It's been 3 long years since Damien was expelled from Iris Academy during my Freshmen Year; I haven't forgotten him, and I know he hasn't forgotten me in that long time. Today is graduation day, and he's promised me he has a big surprise gift waiting for me... Rating subject to change as I add more chapters
1. A New Stage of Life

Majesty

Chapter 1: A New Stage of Life

And so the day has come, May 2nd, graduation day at Iris Academy for the Senior class. Ashley Briar, a particularly typical senior (which, coming from a school of magic, is saying something) dressed in the traditional robes of Snake Hall, was one of the first ones out of the academy, the graduation party for the class was going strong, but she didn't care. She had few friends that still remained at Iris Academy that managed to graduate with her.

Ashley was fairly tall, standing at about 5'9'' or so, her short ink-black hair was chopped short, at its longest ending around the middle of her neck; her sharp and perceptive, yet still kind and friendly eyes were deep violet in color, a slightly darker purple shade than her Snake Hall robes, which were more of a purple-pink hue, but her eyes matched perfectly to her gem amulet that hung on an exquisite golden bead necklace loosely around her neck, and engraved with a 6-pointed star. Ashley's overall frame was quite light and slender, not very muscular, but not overweight or underweight by any means.

One last slight detail, that all but the most perceptive wouldn't have noticed- a small gold ring on her finger, the universal sign of marriage (well, that wasn't entirely true... yet. But the message certainly was crystal-clear).

Ashley wasted no time in departing from the academy, the last few years have had little enjoyment in them, so the first question she asked Professor Potsdam when she had the chance to ask about graduation: how soon after graduation can I leave? Her answer: The minute after, if that is your wish.

Ashley had already packed up all her things the night before, and after a quick trip to Snake Hall to her room- not hers much longer- to collect her things and abruptly leave. An outside perspective might confuse her haste for wanting to see her family again, but that was not the case. Ashley had no family anymore, she asked Potsdam to erase their memory of her when she came back from summer vacation after her Junior year, as their comments about her schooling- of which they truly knew nothing of, so they made their own assumptions- their chastising her of not having a boyfriend yet- which she did, more than they could ever know- and just the disparity between her and them was too much for her to bear, so she cut all ties with them. Them, and now everyone else. But not _him_, of course.

"How was graduation, love?" Damien greeted warmly in their usual spot in the forest the moment she arrived. Damien had changed so little since he was expelled 3 years ago. So little, and yet so much. He had grown a bit taller, standing just a hair above Ashley, his hairstyle unchanged, his physique seemingly unchanged, but he was much stronger underneath his plain-looking robes, which were very similar in design to his Falcon Hall school clothes that he had grown fond of during his years at school, minus the Falcon Hall Crest, of course. The big change, however, was how Damien composed himself. In school, he had a more of a confident ladies' man sort of position, leaning a bit to the side a bit and remaining elusive in his speech to keep a mysterious air about him, always thinking of the next eloquent bit to say; now, however, his position was more authorative and direct (which was significantly culled when it came to Ashley, of course), keeping himself centered and focused, nothing 'mysterious' about him, now it was more of a 'You WILL do as I say!' position, just without the need to say it.

Before answering, Ashley strode up to him and embraced him closely and gave him a long greeting kiss. Oh, how she had missed him so since she had last seen him an eternity ago on spring break, and even then it was a hasted meeting, since as an expelled student, Damien wasn't allowed on school grounds. After what he did, Potsdam or Grabiner would likely try to kill him if they found him. Add to that, Ashley had no one to talk to in school that would understand her and Damien, they only remembered the Freshmen year and... those horrible events. Yes, they were truly horrible, but it was in the past, but no one else could understand that, only she and Damien.

"I swear, it couldn't have gone on longer and more tediously..." Ashley said, her arms still wrapped around his chest, and his hers.

"I know how hard it's been for you, these last few years. I apologize profusely that I couldn't make it better for you-"

"I know... I know... but at least it's over, and I'm with you again..." Ashley rested her head against his chest. There they stood, for a long, silent moment. There was no rush now, now they had all of eternity to spend together.

"So how was school, dear? Did you enjoy your last years as a student wizard?" Damien asked finally, breaking their close embrace first, he moved himself to her side, keeping her hand in his own.

"Horrible, but you know that already..." Ashley started, she was glad she was FINALLY going to be able to get everything off her chest that had been brewing in her for the last 3 years. Since Ashley had only fleeting meetings with Damien since the May Day ball during her Freshmen year, there was so much to discuss with him. But that, unfortunately, would have to wait. As Damien was departing during their last visit- in haste- he said he had a 'surprise' for her for when she graduated. No amount of pleading would make him tell her what this surprise was, so for the last few months, she had to just live with her own imagination.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't not help you more... but come with me, I want to show you something that I'm certain will make things much better..." Damien said softly, his excitement made it feel like he was about to burst. Damien had been waiting for what seemed like 10 eternities for this moment, the anticipation was killing him.

"What is it? You said you had a 'surprise' all that time ago, but you haven't told me a thing! Not even a hint!" Ashley whined, allowing herself to follow his lead.

"Well here's a hint, I know you're going to love it. And it's a BIG surprise." Damien chuckled, and so did Ashley. "BUT, you have to close your eyes. I want it to be a surprise to the very last second."

"Ok, ok. Whatever you say... but it better be good!" Ashley said amidst a flurry of giggles, she obediently closed her eyes as he had told her to, and she felt a blindfold being tightened over her eyes. "Hey!" Ashley chirped. Did he not trust her to do something as simple as keep her eyes closed?

"Just a reassurance, you're going to have to keep them closed for a while, and I want the surprise to be perfect." Damien chuckled softly, the blindfold only provoking Ashley's imagination.

_What is he planning? Some kind of... secret social event or secret society thing? I have no idea... and he doesn't seem too keen on spoiling the surprise... Well, I suppose I'll find out..._

Ashley kept her eyes closed for what seemed like forever, and Damien kept silent the entire time, so the only hints she could go by were smells and ambient sounds. They were walking in the forest for a while, birds chirping, soft grass cushioning every step. It felt like they had been walking for a while before Damien spoke up again, and as much as Ashley could tell, they never left the forest.

"Hold on tight now, ok?" Damien said finally, Ashley wrapped her arms around his arm tighter, feeling his muscles for the first time in much too long, unfortunately it didn't last long.

Ashley felt a wave of magic wash over her, gentle magic, nothing dangerous, but it did send a tingling sensation up and down her spine, soon after, she felt the ground leave her feet, but she didn't feel herself falling anywhere, she just held onto Damien tighter and kept up her blind trust. What was going on? Was he using magic to reveal something big to her? Were they teleporting? Were they flying? It could be any number of things, and the anticipation was killing her, it took a monumental effort not to open her eyes, but she remained resolute.

After a minute or so, finally she felt a floor underneath her feet. To satiate her curiosity a bit, Ashley hopped once, the clack her shoes made told her it was stone, or something similar in texture. And she could hear... cheering? A LOT of cheering... like what one would expect at a rock concert or something. WHAT WAS GOING ON?

"Ok, open your eyes." Damien said finally, Ashley wasted no time in removing the blindfold and opening her eyes- and then recoiling slightly, the sharp adjustment to light was disorienting at first, but she quickly recovered. What she saw... well, she certainly wasn't expecting.

The first thing Ashley noticed was that the sky was black. Just... black. No sun, no stars, no moon, there was... nothing. And yet it appeared to be daytime... or something, it was easy to see for a long distance as if it was daytime and the sun was out, but with no sun and a black sky... the feeling was eerie.

Ashley appeared to be standing on a small stone balcony, about 30 or 40 feet from the ground or so, in front of her was what appeared to be thousands of... people? They certainly weren't human, none of them. Some looked human-esque, two arms, two legs, one head, but that's usually where the similarity ended, and that was at its closest. There were winged people, some with bat-like wings, some with angel-like wings, and everything in between. There were what appeared to be amorphous blob creatures, some that seemed to be holding a defined shape, some just appeared to be a pile of jelly that moved on its own- and that was just the people.

As Ashley looked around, other things of interest practically jumped out at Ashley. The balcony she was standing on was part of a larger structure- very large. It was a castle. It had to be at least 3 stories tall, with a big stone wall below surrounding the castle, the balcony was overlooking the front gate, and in front of that, the mass of 'people'.

The appearance of the people didn't startle Ashley, nor did the sky, for Ashley had come across these things before- this was Otherworld, Ashley had been here before for school functions on what could be called 'field trips', in a sense. It was mostly for research, both times she came with a fellow student- her roommate in Snake Hall, Raven Darkstar, both times- and Professor Potsdam; once it was for White Magic class during her Junior year to study the inhabitants, and the second was for Green Magic class, to study the various flora and non-sentient fauna of Otherworld.

But the cheering people? And the castle? That was new.

"Wh-what's going on?" Ashley asked Damien quickly, almost in shock. What kind of surprise was this?

"This, my dear, is Otherworld; and these people, _your_ people. As of today, you are Otherworld royalty."


	2. Memories and Promises

Chapter 2: Memories and Promises

"My- my WHAT?" Ashley sputtered quickly.

"Your people. You ARE my queen, aren't you?" Damien chuckled and smiled charmingly like he had done so often while they were at school.

Even though she knew full well he was joking, Ashley could feel the heat rise to her face as she blushed furiously just the same, and she wobbled slightly, knowing she was going to fall. Damien was prepared for this, he held her up and escorted her back into the castle.

The room they returned to was a master's suite- or, more appropriately, a king's bedroom. There was a large old-style bed with dark blue sheets, 4 solid posts and curtains, which were currently drawn back as obviously no one was sleeping. There was also a large bookcase crammed with books, a solid wooden desk for reading or writing, also a large armoire for clothes. The walls and ceiling seemed to be enchanted with Blue magic, their appearance was that of a starry sky at night, minus the moon since having a large glowing orb over one's head would probably make it difficult to sleep.

Damien half-walked, half-carried Ashley to the bed and set her down, he remained standing. After a moment collecting her thoughts, Ashley finally began with the questions.

"Ok, what's going on Damien?" Ashley asked finally, cupping her hands on her lap and looking up at him.

"It's a very long story, 3 years in the making..." Damien began.

And it was a long story.

Since his expulsion from Iris Academy, Damien had been very busy- as he said to Ashley before, he had his own castle and servants to tend to, though it was very difficult for him at first, for without his true powers, it was much harder for him to keep his subjects in check. Damien's only option was for him to get stronger the old fashioned way, but after some time, he did manage to bring things under control; granted, it was probably a blessing that he still did not have much under his authority and thus did not have to prove much, but it was by no means easy. Ruling his subjects took up most of Damien's time, and with Ashley busy with school, Damien could only visit her a few choice times, and even then everything had to be set up for his absence, however brief it may have been.

"It hasn't been easy, but I've manage to carve out a bit of Otherword for myself- and you, of course." Damien finally finished, he had been pacing the room as he spoke, gesturing outside a few times, answering Ashley's few questions, he felt exhausted already. The weight of the surprise had drained him, keeping such a secret so busy for so long wasn't easy, his fleeting visits to Ashley had to be hastened, he had to dodge her questions, or else flat-out lie to her and tell her 'not much was happening' on his end, now that he could finally tell her of all his word, it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders, and he felt tired.

"But... I thought that since you hadn't obtained a witch's soul, you failed to become-" Ashley stopped, having jumped right to the logical conclusion. "You did it, didn't you? You took another girl's life?" Ashley asked with an edge in her voice, springing right to her feet, her face hard.

"No! Absolutely not! I am the same Damien as I was 3 years ago, I haven't spilled a drop of witch blood since then, I swear." Damien replied quickly- he expected that reaction. It was, after all, the logical conclusion. "I have gained this power through training as you would- studying magic, honing my body and mind, becoming stronger than all others, and I had subjugated them to my will; all for you... you... don't like it, do you?" Damien sighed.

"No, that's not it... it's just..." Ashley softened significantly at that. She knew Damien wouldn't do that, she never really thought he did, she was really just probing for information- she still had more questions than answers. "I never really though of myself as a queen, you know..."

"Well, I suppose you're still technically just a human witch and I'm still just a demon prince, since we aren't married." Damien stated casually.

Again Ashley could feel herself flush, but it was a softer one this time, she had thought of her and Damien as husband and wife before, but as king and queen of Otherworld? Not in her wildest dreams. Before Ashley could speak again, Damien continued.

"Ha, and there's that innocent blush I've been missing for so long!" Damien chuckled. "Relax my dear, there's time enough to sort out all of that as you wish."

"S-so, I'm not REALLY a queen, am I? I'm still... just a witch..." Ashley said after a long, pensive moment.

"You were never JUST a witch, you're always going to be more than that to me." Damien said, his expression straightforward and serious. "But you don't have to... write laws or plan invasions or what have you, if that's what you mean."

"Oh... ok..." Ashley said, flattered by Damien's compliment, but at the same time quite relieved that she wasn't REALLY a queen... it was just a joke... right..? Ashley never was leader material, she wasn't president of her class- she wasn't even treasurer! Large responsibilities like that made Ashley quite uncomfortable, and fortunately, it seemed Damien knew that already.

"So, now it's your turn." Damien said, offering her his hand. Confused, Ashley just looked up at him with a quizzical look on her face. "I've told you how my last few years have gone, now I want you to do the same. Fair's fair, right?" Damien smiled.

"Oh, certainly..." Ashley let Damien help her up, and they switched positions- Damien was sitting on the bed and Ashley was standing, pacing about, telling her school stories and making gestures, asking Damien if he remembered some choice people.

And it was a very long story. Ashley began with broad things- her preferred studies of White and Black magic, but she had by no means shirked studying Red, Blue and Green. She talked about her exams and how she did very well on them- with no friends to talk to, Ashley had all the time in the world to focus on studying, for better or worse.

"What happened to all of your friends from your Freshmen year?" Damien asked, one who was so generous and friendly as Ashley couldn't make friends?

"Well... my old roommate, Virginia Danson- you remember her? She didn't much care for you- well, she hasn't spoken to me since our Freshmen year, she was still mad at me for pretty much ignoring all her warnings about you, so we never got along after that; my other roommate, Ellen Middleton, was expelled last year for her ridiculous magical science experiments after Potsdam caught her the second time; Donald Danson, Virginia's trouble making brother, was expelled THIS year for a stupid prank on Grabiner that backfired and almost broke Grabiner's arm; my Snake Hall roommate Raven Darkstar hardly spoke a word to me to begin with, so we never got along that well... we respected each other's space, but that was about it... and I'm not sure if you guessed this already, but the girls in Snake Hall aren't exactly the most social bunch around. I've had no one to talk to about anything personal... I've told no one that I was still seeing you, not even Potsdam, though I'm sure anyone could have guessed it... and I haven't been home since last year-"

"Last year? Why? Don't you miss your family?" Damien asked in surprise.

"I... I have no family in them anymore... the two different worlds we live in was just too much for me to bear, so I asked Potsdam to make them forget me..." Ashley said sadly. It was hard, casting them aside, but they weren't a family anymore. Besides Damien, Ashley was all alone. And before now, she didn't even have Damien save for a few slight meetings here and there. It was never enough.

_So she's alone... she's abandoned her friends, her family... everyone... but not me... I should feel honored, but I can't help but pity her... she's given up so much just because of me... and that's not counting... that incident all those years ago..._

"Well, on another note, how was your Freshman?" Damien asked, trying to move off of that subject. Ashley immediately lit up- _good memories there, that's good. I hope she wasn't too hard on em..._ Damien smiled.

"His name was Felix Maxwell, he was a wildseed, just like me. Oh, he was the most adorable little boy- I swear he **couldn't** have been taller than 5 foot, though I suppose that made him fortunate since there was no chance he'd break the rule of being taller than any senior- and he had the biggest, most innocent and naive eyes you've ever seen-"

_Oh, I doubt that very much... maybe I should buy her a nice, big mirror..._

"-and he had short chestnut-brown hair and pearly-white skin, and oh he was so much fun to toy with! I had to practically fight Pastel Rao off of him to claim him as my own when we were picking our Freshmen. Even after it was decided that I got him, Pastel paid more attention to my freshman that she did her own! I swear I had to have found her a dozen times teasing him, or hugging him really closely, or giving him strange 'gifts' or something, I shoo'd her off every time..." Ashley began, Damien was laughing pretty hard- oh, how he could see it so perfectly.

"So what did you have him do? Anything really embarrassing?"

"Well, I'm not exactly imaginative when it comes to making people do strange things for me, so I had him write me a love letter just like you did to me, I just couldn't help myself; his was so much better than mine... it was about flowers in the night or something... I can't remember, I lost the poem a while ago... but it was _so_ cute... I also had him bring me tea while I was studying in the library- I tried to get him to wear cat ears and a maid's outfit while he did it, that made him REAL embarrassed, probably a bit TOO embarrassed, because he told me if I made him do that then he'd go tell Potsdam -or worse, _Grabiner_- on me, so I had to let it go... BUT it gave me an idea for what to give him at the end of the week- I made him a necklace with Black Magic, made up of different beads in various shapes that all meant something different from Initiation- there were little kittens and feather dusters, also some fairy wings to remind him of Pastel, and some tea leaves."

"Ha! Sounds like you had a fun time with the poor boy. More so than I did with you." Damien smiled.

"Yeah, well MY poem didn't end up in Grabiner's hands." Ashley giggled.

"Ha ha, I hope not! You'd scar the poor boy for life!" Damien laughed with Ashley, the disturbing irony of that statement either going over both of their heads, or else they both ignored it, which was certainly for the best.

For a few hours, Damien and Ashley talked about the past few years, reminisced a bit about their year together at Iris Academy, and all was well. It seemed almost too good to be true, and it was. Nothing unusual was said so far, but both could clearly see the writing on the wall- there was something that had to be discussed, and it had to be discussed now. What would happen to Ashley? Damien hadn't given any idea on what the probably length of her stay in Otherworld was going to be, though it was pretty much a nonverbal agreement between the two that it was only a temporary visit; but now Ashley had no family, she had no obvious employment prospects and she was done with school- she had nowhere to go. But at the same time, Otherworld was a very dangerous place for a human -even, no, especially for a witch- and being affiliated with a Demon Prince, one of the many constantly warring claimants to the throne of King of Otherworld, Ashley would be in significantly greater danger. Even so, this was something that had to be addressed.

"So... I've decided... I'm going to live with you in the Otherworld." Ashley said finally during a gap in conversation, her expression flat and serious as she spoke with complete sincerity. This was the topic that had been dancing in the back of both of their heads ever since Ashley mentioned her split from her family, they both had plenty of time to think it over, but the answer by no means came easy to either of them.

_Absolutely not!_ Was Damien's first thought, but he dare not say that._ I... I can protect her..._ was his second thought, followed by recollections of the vile machinations of his adversaries in just the past few years, and applying that to her... it wouldn't end well.

_I can't just turn her away!_

_I owe her... for that time..._

_A human can't LIVE in Otherworld! There's a reason witches and wizards DON'T live in Otherworld! IT'S DANGEROUS FOR THEM!_

_She has nowhere else to turn to..._

_She's doing this for me, isn't she..?_

Silence pervaded the room for a short eternity, Ashley kept her focus on Damien, who was waging his own private war in his head.

_I can't just turn her away!_

_I can't put her in danger!_

Damien opened his eyes and looked at Ashley, examining her closely, hoping that maybe she could give him an answer, since he was torn between keeping her safe and keeping her close.

_She's grown... in many ways... she's more beautiful and mature than she was 3 years ago... but that could make her a target... or a valuable asset... her position is bold, confident... she's always been that way, that's why she was a Horse, even if she is now in Snake's clothing... if only I could see how powerful she's become with her magic, then I can be certain whether or not she can take care of herself..._

Damien finally had an answer.

"I'll let you stay..." Damien said softly, almost at a whisper, if not for the complete silence that enveloped the room, Ashley might not have heard him. But she did, crystal clear.

Ashley sprang to her feet and embraced Damien. "Oh thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou THANKYOU!" Ashley said with exuberant joy, tears were streaming down her face already- either way that was likely to happen.

"HOWEVER." Damien said sharply, gently easing Ashley off of him. "If I feel you are in too much danger here in Otherworld with me, I'll have to send you back." Damien added.

"I've been studying very hard these last few years, I promise you there's no creature here I can't handle by myself!" Ashley said confidently as she wiped her tears on her robes; sure, she could have just used magic to dry the tears, but this felt more symbolic- as of now, her magic was now a serious tool that had to be used for her very survival, not a simple tissue to dry her tears. No more playtime, no more teachers holding her hand and catching her when she fell; now, things were serious. This was life.

"Oh? You **promise** me? You know what a magical promise means, and how serious it is, don't you?" Damien said .

"Yes, I know. So to prove I absolutely mean it, here's a binding one." Ashley said, putting both her hands over her heart. "I promise by all the cardinal spirits of all magic that if you, Damien Ramsey, deem me, Ashley Briar, of insufficient magical ability to remain here in Otherworld, that I will return to the human world at your behest without question, never to return but upon penalty of losing all my connection to magic..." and death, was the implied ending to that.

"And I promise to you, Ashley Briar, that if you prove yourself to be a capable witch able to defend herself against the perils of Otherworld, I will allow you to stay here in Otherworld; and if you are unable to prove yourself, I will abdicate all my possessions in this realm to he whom I deem most worthy, and I will accompany you back to the human world." Damien responded, his hands over his heart as a mirror of Ashley.

This was the agreement between them, either Ashley was strong enough to remain in Otherworld against all odds, or else they both were as good as dead in the human world. Regardless, they would go together, no matter what.

_She said she's been studying mostly White and Black magic... I suppose White magic will help her know the creatures that dwell in this world, but Black magic wouldn't be my first choice for self-defense... well, she's a smart girl- no, she's a smart **woman**... smart and beautiful and brave and... hopefully strong as well... I'll keep an eye on her, if I feel she's not ready... well, we'll cross that bridge if we come to it..._


	3. The Royal Treatment

Chapter 3: The Royal Treatment

Author's Note: Sorry in advance that this chapter is so uneventful and, in my opinion, just flat-out boring. I've got the whole story planned out already, and I promise later chapters will be much less tedious than this one.

* * *

"So with that settled, how about a tour of the castle?" Damien said suddenly with a bright, eager smile.

"Oh... yeah, sure... that sounds nice..." Ashley chuckled at the very sudden change in tone- a second ago they were making life-changing promises, now he was going to give her a lighthearted tour of his castle? Well, it's not like there was much more to say otherwise...

The castle was, relative to other castles, fairly small. The third floor was for high-ranking nobles; the second floor was for servant use, including kitchen and servants' quarters; and the bottom floor was for diplomatic meetings and military use- but, seeing as how Otherworld politics generally boiled down to war first, ask questions later, that meant it was pretty much just military use.

They ended their tour just outside of the castle in the courtyard, Damien was showing Ashley the balcony where they had first arrived from the outside as a robed and hooded figure approached them in a somewhat hastened pace. The man's robes were jet-black, going all the way down to the ground and even dragging a bit, all of his skin was covered save for his hands, only visible as he waved to them- his skin was, in stark contrast to his robes, almost perfectly snow-white. Even the man's face was covered, the hood was pulled far down in front of his face, so low that only a bit of his neck skin showed, nothing above his chin was exposed. Ashley couldn't help but wonder how he saw where he was going.

"Well met, my lord. Is this the witch consort of yours I've heard so much about?" The figure asked in a calm, soft and refined voice. Everything about his demeanor and tone suggested he was nobility, except his clothing.

_Consort? So that's what they think of me? Somehow I doubt Damien's the one who started that rumor, but I suppose they can think whatever they like of me._ Ashley thought calmly, her expression remaining unchanged.

"Greetings, Lord Draejin- Ashley, this is Lord Draejin, my chief strategist. Be forewarned: he's a sharp fellow, be sure to keep an eye on him. Draegan, this is Ashley, as you've apparently already known; be forewarned: she's a sharp girl, be sure to keep an eye on her." Damien said, the three of them shared a laugh.

"I don't deserve such praise, lord, I merely try my best." Draejin said modestly, waving off Damien's compliment. "Anyways, not to be rude but I'd like to hold another war meeting as soon as possible. Today, if at all possible"

"Another? Why? Is there news that I haven't heard about?" Damien inquired, their last meeting was only just yesterday.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, the only new development since yesterday was the arrival of one human witch..." Draejin smiled.

_Does that mean he's planning on using me for his war plans? I don't even know about Otherworld warfare..._

"Very well, if we must... Ashley, if you don't mind, I have business to attend to, may we walk later?" Damien sighed, turning his attention back to Ashley.

"Of course, I understand." Ashley said without any trace of rancor. Leaders must have their priorities straight, after all.

"If you need something, I could assign a few servants to you if you'd like." Draejin suggested helpfully.

_A servant? I've never had a servant before... wow, it's like I'm really royalty! Except... I'm in Otherworld... well, I've still got more than most people can only DREAM of!_

"I'd like that, thank you. Send them up to my room when they're ready." Ashley smiled and gave a slight bow, figuring that was the polite and royal-like thing to do, then she took her leave. Damien and Draejin watched her re-enter the castle, Damien kept watch on her a bit longer.

_She's grown so much... she's become so beautiful..._ Damien thought. _Someday... someday soon, I hope, I will conquer all of Otherworld... just for her..._

"Lord? Is everything alright? My lord?" Draejin snapped his fingers a couple of times to snap Damien out of his new focus.

"Oh, sorry... yes, let's go..." Damien cleared his throat and made his own way back into the castle, Draejin left out the front gate to summon the generals for the war meeting.

* * *

Hours later, Ashley was reclining comfortably on her cushioned chair in her room. Ashley's room was almost the exact same as Damien's, minus the starry night design Ashley's walls were instead and ceiling were just black, probably meant as a blank canvas for Ashley to use her own Blue Magic designs on, the only problem was that Ashley had no idea what sort of design she wanted for her room, the only thing she could think of was what Damien's room's design was.

Several maids -all female, and all of them looked remarkably_ human_... well, human-_ish,_ at the very least- all of which may as well have been nameless constantly came rushing in and out of Ashley's room, bringing her food or drinks or books or whatever else Ashley asked for. Ashley wasn't hungry, nor was she thirsty, nor did she have any shortage of books as she brought many books with her from school, she was just bored to death already. Sitting more-or-less alone in her room was even more boring than school, where at least the idea of learning something new or having a chance to hear one of Professor Grabiner's witty quips to a fellow student kept things interesting, here there was Damien, which definitely made things better, but he was busy. And he was likely to be ALWAYS busy, being a Demon Prince at war with apparently every other Demon Prince and all.

Ashley was trying to come up with something for her last two of her servants to do. Right now, she had one servant fetching her food, another fetching her some juice, one playing a soft, calming flute song and a final one was massaging her feet.

_What else is there to do?_ Ashley wondered. Everything she could think of and more was already being done for her, what else was there?

As if on cue, a knock on the door sounded, interrupting the soft flute elegy that one of the servants was playing. With a quick point and casual wave of her hand in the general direction of the door, the two servants rushed to the door, nearly toppling over each other as they hurried to do as Ashley commanded. The first one there opened the door, then was quickly shoved aside by the other, who curtsied and welcomed the visitor in: Damien. Ashley immediately snapped her fingers and shoo'd all of her servants out of her room. Now was private time, not fun time. All of the servants quickly finished their tasks and hurried out of the room.

"Well, it looks like someone's been having fun with my servants." Damien greeted with a warm smile as Ashley practically flew out of her chair and hugged him.

"Not fun enough, I'm so BORED!" Ashley groaned once they parted. "The flute player was nice, but I don't much care for ordering servants around. I want to DO something!"

"A Horse in Snake's clothing, aren't you?" Damien chuckled, that moment was the first time Ashley realized she was still in her school robes since she arrived in Otherworld. "Don't worry, things will happen soon enough that'll keep you busy."

"I hope so..." Ashley sighed.

"Come now, let's resume the tour, shall we?"

* * *

Contrary to Damien's reassurance, things haven't happened soon enough to keep Ashley busy enough to stave off the incredible boredom. Days passed, and all through it Ashley was like a caged bird inside the castle- Damien wouldn't allow her to leave the castle without an escort, usually himself, but if he was busy then it was a small battalion of guardsmen, and she was forbidden from going outside the town surrounding the castle, making her feel like a prisoner, she couldn't really DO anything. Sure, she could just teleport away from it all, but she didn't want to worry Damien, and if she acted irresponsibly then he'd probably send her back to the human world because of her promise. Ashley voiced her issues with Damien, but he always said something to the effect of 'I just want to keep you safe' or 'Something's going to come up soon enough, just please be patient with me'.

Ashley was patient for 3 years, and now that she had finally reunited with Damien, things were only getting worse. Maybe she was just stir crazy, but she needed to get OUT.

It was about midday -relative to when Ashley slept, since there was no sun to gauge the time by- Ashley was walking through the castle garden, alone, since Damein was busy as usual with Demon Prince-stuff, to calm herself.

_The flora of Otherworld isn't much different from Earth... how dull..._ Ashley yawned as she absent-mindedly glanced at the plants as she walked by. This place is so boring! What else is there to do around here but order servants around and look at plants?!

"Good day, Lady Briar." A voice from off to the side snapped Ashley out of her boredom. Ashley turned, and there was Draejin, wearing the same robes he was wearing a week ago when she first met him. In all that time, Ashley still never got the chance to see his face, now every time she saw him, she couldn't help but get curious, always trying to nonchalantly lean herself so she had the best angle to try and see his face -not making it look TOO obvious, of course, she didn't want to be rude-, but every time he either turned away or she still couldn't see past his chin.

"Oh, hello Lord Draejin." Ashley replied warmly, her facade of cool calmness covered her crushing boredom flawlessly.

"How has your stay so far in Otherworld been? It is my understanding that not only is this your first time staying in Otherworld for an extended period of time, but also your first time in a castle." Draejin asked politely.

"Well, to be honest... it's kinda boring here. Damien doesn't let me leave the castle without an escort, and there's not much for me to do here at the castle but look at the garden, and I'm sure you can imagine that gets pretty boring after doing it every day." Ashley replied with a light chuckle.

"Is that so? Have you asked Lord Damien about this?" Draejin asked.

"Yes, a few times, but he always just waves me off or tells me to be patient. I HAVE been patient, now I want to DO something!" Ashley huffed, thinking about her issues when she was supposed to be having a calm, quiet walk was making her upset.

"Hmmm... perhaps I can help with that..." Draejin mumbled, then pausing to think up something. "Well, I'm sure you don't want to hear this now, but if you give me some time, I can maybe come up with something to help you with your problems..."

"Oh, thank you Lord Draejin, I would appreciate that." Ashley said happily, though on the inside she wasn't happy.

_Another person telling me to be patient. Great. That helps a LOT!_

"Now I must apologize, but I'm late for an audience with some of the other nobles, so I must take my leave." Draejin said.

"Oh, of course, go right ahead." Ashley nodded, and Draejin took his leave.

As if nothing had happened, Ashley resumed her walk.


	4. From a 'Friend'

Chapter 4: From a 'Friend'

Author's Note: Again, I have to apologize for an uneventful chapter in advance. If things continue as they are, I might replace these chapters with something a bit less... boring at a later point, but for now, I'd just like to continue the story. So enjoy, and please leave a review, I'm always open for criticism, as I know full well that my works are far from perfect, and I'm sure half the time that you're reading this, you're thinking 'oh, there's a mistake, and there's a mistake...', so please, let me know. If not in a review then a PM is fine, but not telling me certainly won't make the story you're reading any better, so please, criticize away!

* * *

The rest of Ashley's day after her meeting with Draejin in the garden was fairly nondescript. After her walk, Ashley met with Damien for a while, had a nice royal dinner of odd Otherworld foods that were more interesting to look at than they were to taste- not it was bad tasting by any means- and afterwards she returned to her room, read some of her old books and eventually fell asleep.

Very late that night as Ashley slept peacefully in her room, a small, quiet fist rapped on her door, not nearly loud enough to awaken Ashley. After a pause, a second knock, louder than the first, sounded. Ashley grumbled and sat up tiredly, she was awake, but she wasn't sure why.

_What's going on..? Did I hear something or was I just dreaming?_ Ashley thought groggily as she rubbed her eyes somewhat awake. After another pause, a third knock, a bit louder than the last one.

"Just a minute." Ashley grumbled as she got out of bed and straightened her bed hair a bit with her hands in a desperate attempt to make herself presentable.

_Who the hell's this at this hour?! Not a servant, and no one NORMAL, that's for sure... I should be on my guard..._ Ashley thought as she made her way to the door, reaching for the knob with her right hand, while preparing a Black Magic spell with her left- if it was indeed someone dangerous, they'd be falling 3 floors when a hole opened up underneath them.

Ashley quickly unlocked and opened the door in one quick motion, the visitor... was not nearly what she had expected.

The visitor was a child, or at least child-like in appearance, the top of its head only coming up to Ashley's collar. In the dim light in the hallway, the visitor appeared to have milk-white skin and was wearing a child-sized maid's uniform and, most perplexing of all, a brown paper bag over it's head with two holes cut out for eyes.

_Is that supposed to be some kind of disguise..? What manner of spirit is this?_ Ashley thought, not entirely sure what to make of this little visitor- she didn't release her spell yet though, as this could be someone powerful and dangerous, just innocent-looking on the outside, sent to catch Ashley off-guard and kill her to get to Damien, who would likely send her away right away.

"Sorry to disturb you Lady Ashy..." The visitor said in a preteen young girl's voice, evidently having forgotten Ashley's name in between the time she was told who she was supposed to be visiting and now; then she abruptly held up an envelope for Ashley to take. Ashley tentatively took the envelope with her right hand.

"Thank you... who's it from?" Ashley asked cautiously.

"I was told I wasn't supposed to tell, or else..." The little girl then pointed to herself with her right index finger, then she held it up to where her mouth probably would be, had it not been covered by a brown paper bag, and made a 'shush' noise. She would be silenced, or something to that effect.

_So this is a rendezvous that is to be kept secret... most suspicious... what does that tell me? That it was likely something meant for Damien, but instead they brought it to me since they thought I'd be easier to manipulate, well we'll see about that! Let's see what this envelope has inside!_

"Ok, thank you dear, you may go." Ashley waved her off, but the strange girl stayed put.

"I was told I was supposed to stay with you as you read the letter, or else..." The little girl said, then making the same motion as before- point to herself, then 'shush'. That made Ashley even more suspicious. Why leave the messenger with her? To make sure she read it? There was no question that Ashley would read this, a letter delivered to her in the dead of night by a little girl with a paper bag over her head, regardless of whether or not said little girl stayed with her, so why did the girl have to stay? Perhaps the answer lied in the envelope, Ashley figured.

"Ok... come in I guess, sit down anywhere you'd like..." Ashley stepped aside and the little girl noiselessly entered the room and took a seat -where else- on the floor in the middle of the room. As if she wasn't odd enough already, apparently she wouldn't sit down in a nice convenient chair or on the bed or something when given permission, either. Ashley rolled her eyes, closed and locked her door again, then went over to and sat down on her bed, then she ripped the envelope open and read the letter inside, using her own magic to produce light.

First things first, Ashley went right to the bottom of the letter and read who signed it- Lord Draejin.

Ok, that solves that, but what the hell does he want that he couldn't just say, TELL ME instead of giving me a letter in the middle of the night? Ashley mentally huffed, then she returned her focus to the top of the letter and began to read the letter in full.

_'Lady Ashley,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health-_

_Ok, that's a laugh! 'Finds me in good health'? I WOULD be in good health if I could just get some sleep! _Ashley mentally fumed, letting out a sigh, then she shook her head and continued reading. The messenger girl made no comment, she sat perfectly still on the floor as Ashley resumed reading.

_Lady Ashley,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health. Due to the nature of your circumstances, I'm sure you're eager for me to get to the point and be brief, so I will: relating to our conversation earlier today, I have come up with a conclusion that I'm sure you will be satisfied with. I would prefer to speak in person, so if you would indulge me, I ask you to accompany the messenger that brought this message to you as she returns to me so that we may come up with a decision as soon as possible. _

_Sincerely, Lord Draejin.'_

That appeared to be all that was on the page, but once Ashley reached Draejin's signature, more words in the margin below appeared, much in the same fashion that Ashley had received letters from Damien while she was in school, especially during the latter part of her Freshman year.

_'While I have no evidence to support this, I ask you to take this on faith that the messenger is a very powerful spirit that I have instructed, if the need arises, to protect you with her life, so you needn't worry about personal safety. It is paramount that this meeting is kept secret, as Lord Damien would obviously not be pleased to know that you and I were both plotting behind his back. Again, I ask you to trust me in this, and I assure you no harm will come to you, else it will be both of our heads.'_

_Well, that's... cheerful, isn't it? _Ashley mused once she finished. _He makes a big deal about my safety, which makes me more suspicious that something might happen if I go to this meeting, almost like he's saying 'don't worry, this will ABSOLUTELY NOT happen' just before he himself betrays me. Or I suppose it could also be that I'm naive and I'm only thinking this because I'm not experienced enough in these kinds of things..._

Ashley paused her contemplation and looked at the messenger, who was still sitting silently on the floor, looking intently at Ashley. Ashley still didn't know who this girl-spirit was, though the letter did explain the purpose of her staying while Ashley read the letter. Neither said a word for the long, uncomfortable minute that they stared at each other, so Ashley relented her gaze and resumed her contemplation of her course of action.

_Maybe I should just take a step back and look at this from a broader view: if I blow him off, everything will likely stay as it is, I'll be alive with Damien for the rest of my life and I'll probably also be bored to tears for the rest of my life. Alternatively, if I go to Draejin or whoever sent this and I take the risk... well, it could easily cost me my life if I'm not careful, or I could be captured and held for ransom... or suffer a far worse fate than that... and if things don't work out, Damien certainly won't be happy, he'll probably send me back to Earth, and he'll have to come with me and... he's still a criminal in the magical community, he'll be hunted down to face who-knows-what fate... on the other hand, if I take the risk and it pays off, I can still live here with Damien with all the freedom I want and we live happily ever after... probably, I suppose I won't really know until I meet Draejin... and I suppose if I go, I'm not agreeing to anything yet except to listen to his idea; I'm still putting myself at risk to do so though, but if I refuse, Damien'll never have to know... so I suppose the best thing to do would be to go, but I must be extra cautious, and the moment I smell a double-cross or an ambush, Draejin will wish he'd never met me..._

"I assume you've been instructed to lead me somewhere?" Ashley finally spoke up, the messenger immediately perked up.

"Yes. If you want. I was told it was to be your choice, I was not to force you or beg or pressure you in any way, or else..." Again she made the 'shush', Ashley would have to mention that to Draejin, threatening something that appeared to be a child made her very uncomfortable and disturbed, not to mention all the secrecy that followed a conversation that Ashley thought was just exchanging casual pleasantries in the garden.

"Alright, then let me just get dressed and we'll get going." Ashley said, quickly throwing on a set of robes- whatever was on top, she didn't even bother to look, not that she'd be able to see much this late. Once finished, Ashley motioned for the messenger to lead on, and together they left the room- Ashley left it unlocked behind her, so if she went missing they'd discover it quickly, if she left it locked they would probably think she was still sleeping. Quietly the pair walked down the corridor, down the flights of stairs and out of the castle.

"By the way, what's your name?" Ashley asked finally.

"Draesin."


	5. Conspiracy and Chocolates

Chapter 5: Conspiracy and Chocolates

The walk was long and winding through the town that surrounded Damien's castle, the path frequently looped back onto itself for whatever reason, to not be followed, Ashley supposed, though what soul would follow this odd pair as they wandered through the dead of night (probably night, it was darker than usual, but there was still no sky to speak of) around in what seemed to be circles, the whole time Ashley questioned why the hell they couldn't just teleport there.

After about half an hour of winding travel, Draesyn led Ashley to a small house made of stone, or at least it appeared to be made of stone, one could never be too sure when they were in Otherworld. Nevertheless, the house that might have been made of stone was small and run-down looking, it looked to only be one room, and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned or otherwise upkept in many, many years. But there was still a solid roof and 4 walls, so it could still be classified as a 'house'.

"Go inside." Draesyn said once they arrived at the door, she showed no intention of going in on her own.

_If that's the only entrance, then I'm trapped- or at least, I will appear to be, a simple spell of Black Magic or a simple teleport spell and I'm as good as free, so there's no **real** danger._ Ashley thought confidently, nodding and entering the stone structure, closing the wooden door behind her- if the information that Draejin had for her was indeed so careful and important, there was no desire for casual eavesdroppers to drop on by.

"Welcome, my lady." Draejin greeted warmly, he was sitting comfortably in a small wooden chair that was almost literally the only furniture in the house, there was also a small table supported on 1 leg that had a box of chocolates on it with a few already taken.

_Ok, that's **certainly** not suspicious at all..._ Ashley thought as her eyes glanced over the chocolates, not spending too much time on them, of course, no need to let Draejin know she was on to... whatever he was trying to do.

"Hello Lord Draejin..." Ashley said cautiously, making her way to roughly the center of the room.

"I'm sure you want to get right to business, but first, would you like some chocolate?" Draejin said without getting up, Ashley shook her head quickly.

_NO WAY! What kind of moron WOULD!? Though if he's up to something, I doubt he's going to give up that easily, so I should be on my guard..._ Ashley thought warily. To Ashley's surprise, Draejin seemed to relent immediately, politely setting the chocolates aside and returning his attention to Ashley.

_Hmm... maybe he's not plotting something... maybe he just has a sweet tooth and was being polite by offering me some of his chocolates..? Still, I don't think I should take any... something about being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night by a little girl with a bag over her head and being led to a run-down stone shack and meeting a strange spirit doesn't exactly whet my appetite for chocolate... so I think I'll pass..._

"I have come up with a plan to gain you the freedom you seek. It is quite simple in design, but it will require very careful execution on your part, and it will be very dangerous, in many ways." Draejin said in a very serious, very straightforward tone; no evading the point, no small talk to get in the way- right to the point, and certainly not making it seem easier than it is, whatever 'it' is.

"I'm listening." Ashley said, now more eager than ever- if it was really as dangerous and precise as he said, it must be very exciting! Ashley's blood quickened as she hung upon every word.

"It's quite simple really, you just need to assassinate an enemy of Lord Damien."

Ashley's blood ran cold for a moment. _Assassinate_? Like that thing that _assassins_ do? Ashley never saw herself as an assassin by any means, nor had she EVER thought she would actually take part in one.

"I- I'm not sure about that... I don't think I can perform an... assassination." Ashley said shakily, the mere act of speaking the word sent chills down her spine.

"I understand that must seem a tall task for one so new to Otherworld as you, but it is precisely that fact that makes you ideal for this task." Draejin said.

_Ideal..? How does that work? Wouldn't inexperience be a BAD thing?_ Ashley thought, so she made a 'go on' motion, Draejin nodded and elaborated what he meant by that.

"Well, it's a very well known fact in Otherworld that human magicians like yourself come here regularly, mostly for studying purposes. It is also a well known fact that the various demon lords of Otherworld like to... 'purchase', shall we say, the abilities of said magicians to further their respective agendas, as there are few spirits in this world that have the power to match that of a full-fledged witch or wizard like yourself. Since you are new to Otherworld, you are an unknown human witch and as such, you would be a prime target for recruitment into the service of a demon lord. So really it would be child's play for you to enter the service of a rival demon lord, enter his private circles and eliminate him in whatever fashion you choose."

"But... what about Damien? Will he know about all this?" Ashley asked almost immediately.

"It is best if he does not. The fewer people that know about this plan, the better. Besides, you know of that old human saying 'To truly fool one's enemies, they must first fool their allies' or something of that nature. Plus, Damien's upset over your leaving will add to the evidence of your leaving- everyone will think it's genuine."

"But then everyone has to deal with angry Damien. Especially me." Ashley said, the very thought of the upset this would cause Damien... it unsettled her. Already she could imagine his furious screams upon her return.

"Well... all the more surprise when you return with the news of a slain adversary? It's a gamble, to be sure. But then, what have you to lose?" Draejin posed.

_Damien, of course. No matter what, I don't want to lose him... And that promise we made... this might convince him I'm too reckless to be here and he'll send me back, and that's assuming I even come back at all! Plus, he'll have to come back with me, but there's no saying he'll stay with me once we get there, especially if... this doesn't work out... but still, I can't leave things the way they are... it may be selfish of me to do this, but... but if he would've just listened to me, I wouldn't have had to even CONSIDER this in the first place!_

Ashley took a deep breath, she could feel the blood rushing to her face as she grew upset with Damien. Once calmed, she returned her thoughts to the plan.

_It's a solid enough plan, but I can't help but feel that there's something important getting in the way..._

"But everyone knows I'm associated with Damien. He made that grand announcement when we arrived here, remember? So how can any other lord trust me if they know I'm associated with Damien already? It'll be much too obvious." Ashley said after a silent minute of thinking.

"Hmm... that's true..." Draejin paused, though he quickly came up with a work-around. so then you say he tricked you into it. You came to Otherworld to study, Damien found you and invited you to his castle to study, then he tricked you and tried to make you his wife by making that announcement and by intimidating you, so you ran away the first chance you got. Simple as that."

_That's... pretty clever... but am I a good liar to begin with? Well, if I think about it a certain way, I'm not really lieing, since I would technically be running away... well, I'll worry about that later..._

"Well... not that this plan is a bad one, but... I'm not much of a spy-slash-assassin, you know?"

"You **think** you aren't, you mean. What makes you think so? What can a 'spy-slash-assassin' do that you can't see yourself capable of doing?"

"Hmm... I just don't see myself as having that kind of cunning... I'm not like you, lord Draejin."

"Hmhmhm... cunning, yes." Draejin chuckled, then he picked up the box of chocolates, and in a quick burst of blinding flames that caused Ashley to turn away a bit, her eyes being used to the darkness by now; they vanished into ash. "Did you know those were poisoned? If you ate even a single one, you would have died instantaneously."

"Wh-WHAT!?" Ashley balled her hands into fists and gathered magical energies around her in preparation for a fight.

_He tired to KILL ME!? I KNEW those chocolates were suspicious! He must think I'm stupid! Well he can't say he caught me off-guard, I was suspicious of this from the very beginning! I'll turn him inside-out for that!_

"Calm down, calm down; I didn't try to kill you, if I did, do you think I would have told you?" Draejin said calmly.

"Good... point..." Ashley said as she gradually relaxed, also releasing her built-up magical energy.

_You know what would be nice right now? Sleep. That's one activity that I'm pretty sure I can do without humiliating myself..._

"So why DID you poison those chocolates and then offer them to me if you weren't trying to kill me?" Ashley asked once she had calmed... a bit.

"I thought you might be uncomfortable with this task- as you seem to be- so I devised this little test. I, someone you know and trust well enough to follow his daughter-"

_Yeah, that's what I figured. Draejin, Draesyn? Preeeeeetty close right there... and neither of them have a face, so that's kinda... unique... don't see that every day..._

"-on a midnight journey to a suspicious and unknown location merely by my word. Once here, you placed yourself within my power; though I'm sure you had a backup plan, I severely doubt you would allow yourself to be placed at such a disadvantage-"

_Oh, he's good... I certainly did that..._

"-so easily. Add to that, I offered a welcome of chocolates for you. I know nothing of human foods, but lord Damien tells me that women such as you like chocolate, so I conjured up some and got rid of a few to make it seem like I had already eaten some, giving you the illusion that they couldn't be poisoned if I had eaten them-"

_Alright, now he's just overestimating me... the fact that the chocolates were THERE AT ALL kinda creeped me out too much for me to think like that..._

"-but you still refused them, that tells me that you wouldn't even trust someone who has, thus far, shown trustworthiness-"

_And creepiness... EXTREME creepiness... you and your daughter are VERY CREEPY AND UNUSUAL TO ORCHESTRATE THIS!_

"-that shows you have cleverness, cunning, and skepticism in what appears to be the kindness of others; seems to me that those are prime traits for a 'spy-slash-assassin' to have." Draejin finished finally.

"Th-that's... quite the conclusion... are you sure you're not overestimating me just a little?" Ashley responded, largely without thinking as she was caught off-guard by Draejin finishing suddenly while she was thinking.

"Maybe a little, some of it is based on my own assumptions, but all the evidence that can't be refuted points to you being quite capable to handle this task quite handily." Draejin answered honestly.

_I'm not so sure... how can refusing chocolates that are VERY OBVIOUSLY SUSPICIOUS be seen as 'clever' or 'cunning'? Does HE think this was a clever test? Damien said Draejin was clever, but after THIS... I'm not so sure... though if he's a 'clever' spirit, I must be a once-in-a-millenia super-PRODIGY to them then, because this little ordeal was just ridiculous!_

Brimming with confidence- probably over the line of over-confidence- Ashley felt she could take on this trivial little challenge, if Draejin was the best adversary that Otherworld could offer. Besides, after all that, it seemed a pretty safe gamble to take, if Ashley was really so capable... though some little nagging doubt in the back of her mind told her this was all a REALLY bad idea that she would probably REALLY regret later, she pushed that into the deepest corners of her mind.

_Paranoia, that's probably normal for a spy/assassin. People are always out to get them and such..._ Ashley told herself.

"Alright, I'll do it. But you'll have to give me details of who, when and how this is going to happen, I'm still quite unfamiliar with Otherworld." Ashley said confidently/

"Of course, my lady, I expected this answer..."


End file.
